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The Nagpur riots of 1927 were part of series of
riots taking place across various cities in British India during the 1920s. Nagpur was then the capital of Central Provinces and Berar
(CP&B) state of British India which covered most of the central
India. The riots occurred on September 4, 1927.[1
] It was the day of Lakshmi Puja – a Hindu festival day during
Diwali.[2
] Nagpur had earlier experienced similar riots
between Hindus and Muslims in 1923.

Contents

Background

The mutual distrust between Hindu and Muslim communities in
1920s had reached low and riots were seen frequently across many
cities of India. In 1923, India witnessed eleven riots, in 1924
there were eighteen riots, in 1925 there were sixteen riots, in
1926 there were thirty five riots.[3
] Between twelve months of May 1926 to April 1926,
40 more riots occurred across various cities. These mostly occurred
in Bengal, Punjab and United Provinces
(UP). Lahore riots of August
1927 were the most deadly recorded riots in this series.[1
]

The earlier riot of 1923 was caused when members of Hindu Mahasabha took out a procession and
passed in front of a mosque
and played loud music. The Muslim community objected starting a
skirmish between the two parties.[3
] These riots had a profound impact on K. B. Hedgewar
which prompted him to form Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization and currently one of
largest Hindu organization in world, at Nagpur in 1925.[4]Jacques Généreux in
his book The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian
Politics records a testimony which says, Hedgewar lead the Ganesha procession in 1927
beating the drums in defiance of the usual practice to not pass in
front of the mosque with music.[5] All these events acted as
catalyst building up the tension between two communities.

Riots

On the morning of September 4, day of Laksmi Puja, Hindus took
out a procession like every year and passed in front of a mosque in
Mahal area of Nagpur. However, the Muslims this time stopped the
procession did not allow it to pass from the area. In the
afternoon, when the Hindus were resting after morning procession,
Muslim youths took out a procession shouting Allahu Akbar and were armed with
weapons.[2
] They carried weapons like javelins, daggers and knives. The Muslim youths threw stones at
house of Hedgewar but he was out of Nagpur at that time.[6
] RSS cadres sensing the mood of the procession
came out in the narrow lanes of Mahal area and reciprocated with
lathis further
intensifying the riots.[2
]Liaquat Ali Khan in his book
Pakistan — The Heart of Asia also describes a major arson incident during the riot that
seemed pre-meditated with explosives gathered well before the riots
began.[1
]

The Washington Post reported
22 had been killed and more than 100 injured in riots that
continued for two days.[7
] Later the government ordered troops into the
city to restore peace.[8] During the riots, RSS had
grouped its cadres in 16 shakhas and spread across the
city to protect Hindu communities.[9
]

Aftermath

RSS had showcased its role in defending Hindus during the 1927
riots.[10]
The popularity of organization ushered as the news of spread across
the country. It saw a spurt in the membership and further
strengthening itself.[6
][11
] By 1929, an organization took elaborate
hierarchical structure and between 1931–1939 the number of its
branches grew from 60 to 500. The membership count had reached
60,000 by this time.[9
]